


Caught in a Moment

by octoberinlondon



Category: The White Queen (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-06
Updated: 2014-07-06
Packaged: 2018-02-07 17:55:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1908333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/octoberinlondon/pseuds/octoberinlondon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He looked so tall, making her wonder whether she was smaller than usual, or he had grown several inches overnight. She knew it took all of his strength not to crumble</p>
            </blockquote>





	Caught in a Moment

He looked so tall, making her wonder whether she was smaller than usual, or he had grown several inches overnight. She knew it took all of his strength not to crumble. Not to fall like a rock into the sea. A sea of bitterness and regret. He stood tall, every muscle in his body taut and about to burst. He looked almost as tall as his brothers, but they were gone and he had been left behind with a burden too heavy for a man to carry.

She watched how he tried to adjust his position, how he tried to shift his body so his shoulders would look even. She wanted to tell him he didn’t have to do it. They would see nothing. The ermine would hide his secret, just like she had done all these years. _My poor Richard_. She cursed Edward, she knew it was a sin, but she cursed him and his mistress Elizabeth.

_All the weight on his shoulder, all of this…is your fault._

Anne stepped closer, her hand reaching out to touch him, reverently, gently. She pressed her body against his to steady and support him.

_I will be your pillar. I will stand strong for you. If we fall, then we will fall together._

He leaned against her, letting his shoulder reveal its unevenness. Only to her, to no one else. She wrapped his arms around him, burying her head against his back. He placed his hand above hers, stroking it gently with his thumb.

“They’re all dead and gone.” She heard him mutter, and for a moment, she thought he wasn’t there, that he was far away in the distance and his voice just an illusion, an echo of the past.

“But I am here,” she heard herself say, pressing her palm against his heart. “Promise me you won’t leave,” he whispers, “promise me you will be there. Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow…for the rest of our lives.”

She kissed his shoulder, the one that had made him feel ashamed for most of his life. The one that grew uneven after he’d fallen from the horse at Middleham. “For the rest of our lives, Richard.” Her voice was nothing but a whisper. No one was supposed to hear it, no one but the man in her arms.

He groaned, finally allowing his pain to take over. He wanted nothing so much than to fall on his knees, to crumble, to be saved by her arms. “I am afraid it will change me. What will become of us, Anne?”

“I don’t know,” she replied honestly. “All I know is that this will be our moment. We will struggle, we will fight, but we will be together through all of this.”

“What if we linger in a moment that never will be ours?”

She released him, gently turning him around to face her. The pain in his eyes made her heart heavy. _My poor Richard_. She cupped his face with her hands, caressing his skin with her thumb.

“Kiss me,” she commanded, pulling his head to hers. “As the Queen wishes,” he murmured before his lips touched hers. Forgotten was the cold of the Tower, forgotten was the cold of Westminster Abbey. Forgotten were the rumours of a barren queen and a king without love. Forgotten were the promises of their youth, they didn’t matter anymore. What mattered was this moment.

“I will fill your womb again.” He looked tall again, and she felt small again. “You still believe…after all these years?” Her voice cracked.

“I will make you feel safe. You won’t have to be afraid. I will protect you.”

For a second, both thought of the children, buried deep beneath the ground. Children that history wouldn’t find worthy to be remembered. Children that they would always remember.

“You will never feel this loss again.”

“Oh, Richard…”

She shook her head, and pressed her hand against his heart again. No, she wanted to believe anything he would tell her, but she couldn’t. Not this time. Not this lie. She was sure he believed in what he told her. She was sure he didn’t even want to lie to her.

“We will be crowned tomorrow.”

“I know.”

“Do you think history will remember us, Anne? Do you think they will see the evil usurper in me?”

“Do you care so much what they are going to see in you?”

“No,” he laughed. It wasn’t his usual laughter. It was desperate, it was a lie again.

“Will you see the evil usurper that I am?”

She pulled his head close to kiss him again. “No, I will see a man who’s been betrayed by the wheel of Fortune. But it keeps turning, do you remember? Someday we will be at the top again.”

“Not today.”

“But maybe tomorrow.”

He pulled her close, and she could hear his heart beat against his chest. Slow and gentle. All she wanted was to be caught in this moment forever.


End file.
